The Road Less Traveled
by wishinguponafallingstar
Summary: A new look at what hapenned after the Season 1 finale. Old characters will be used and eventually some new ones as well. How would Emma deal with her status if she didn't see the Enchanted Forest?
1. Prologue

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,  
And sorry I could not travel both  
And be one traveler, long I stood  
And looked down one as far as I could  
To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,  
And having perhaps the better claim  
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,  
Though as for that the passing there  
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay  
In leaves no step had trodden black.  
Oh, I marked the first for another day!  
Yet knowing how way leads on to way  
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh  
Somewhere ages and ages hence:  
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I,  
I took the one less traveled by,  
And that has made all the difference.

Robert Frost

The Road Less Traveled By

Prologue

Kathryn was washing dishes in her house reflecting on all that had happened in the last few months. Heartache was her new normal and she accepted it. That was when she felt the curse break.

"Frederick, where are you?"

Grabbing her coat Kathryn ran out of the house searching for her one true love.

On the other side of town Ashley and Sean were playing with Alexandra. Sean's father, Charles or Charlie, was looking on lovingly. Ever since Sean married Ashley, Charlie had come around. They really were a wonderful couple and he was happy to help them especially when he saw how hard they worked to make Alexandra happy. And then the curse broke.

They all froze. Sean looked over at his wife. "Ella?"

"Thomas?"

Reaching for each other they wrapped themselves up in a passionate kiss.

"Children, we must find King James and Snow White," stated Charlie. The look of incredulity on his face made Sean and Ashley pause. "We must find them. Now that the curse is broken they, we all, will be in danger and they will need us.

Standing up Sean said, "Well let's get started then. Let's reclaim what is ours."

The staff in the hospital were milling around. Emma stroked Henry's hair as he smiled up at her.

"I am so happy you are ok kid," Emma said.

"I am just so proud of you, Mom" Emma smiled. The joy in heart was just too good to be true.

A tray clattered behind them. Emma turning saw the nurse pale as a ghost. Going to her, "Are you ok?"

The nurse was fixated on the window. Looking out Emma saw a cloud of purple smoke enveloping the town. "What is that?"

"Something bad," said a shaking Henry. Reaching over Emma grabbed his shoulder. As the cloud descended on them, Emma grabbed Henry into a hug covering him with her body. The purple haze billowed around the building with the wind and thunder shaking everyone to their boots.

Across town Sean, Ashley, Charlie, and Alexandra stepped out of their home. Just as quickly they were encased in the purple cloud. Charlie jumped onto his family as the purple cloud with all its wind and fury descended on them.

Kathryn ran through town, one destination in mind. How had she been so stupid as to not recognize Frederick when she was there? Storybrooke Elementary School was only a block away.

"Please be there!" Kathryn whispered to herself.

Hearing a loud rumble behind her, she turned to see the purple cloud coming towards her. Her heart began to fill with fear. As she opened her mouth to scream, she felt strong arms wrap around her and bring her to the ground. The rage of magic swirled above her, but yet she felt safe. The cloud began to lift. Turning over she looked into the most arresting, familiar eyes she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Frederick!" came the quiet gasp from her lips.

The cloud lifted from David and Mary Margaret. Taking a step back Mary Margaret looked around, "What's happening?" There was a note of fear in her voice?

Just as shaky David replied, "I don't know. Let's find out."

With a nod Mary Margaret let David take her hand and start to walk down the street. Two women were in the street hugging and crying. Turning they saw David and Mary Margaret.

"Snow!" gasped Ruby.

"Red!" cried Mary Margaret. Running towards each other they wrapped themselves into a hug. Tears flowed down their cheeks as their friendship was instantly renewed. Granny came to David and gave him a motherly hug. There was so much unspoken between them that would come later. As Ruby moved in for a hug with David, Granny went to Mary Margaret. Mary Margaret knew now that this was real. A thousand memories were flooding back into her heart.

"Your highness," said a gruff voice behind them. Looking up Mary Margaret saw the dwarves.

Still not believing what she saw, Mary Margaret went over to her friends. Crying she went into their arms, not letting them bow to her for long. They were dearer to her than that. Stepping back Mary Margaret looked at them lovingly.

"So, the curse is broken?" asked Leroy.

"It would appear so," replied James coming forward to greet the people who had helped him find his true love.

"So what do we do now?" asked Ruby.

"Now. Now we find my daughter," replied Mary Margaret with hope in her voice. David nodded in agreement. She didn't need to look far.

Another voice suddenly appeared, "So it's true?"

Turning Mary Margaret saw Emma standing there. Words failed them. Emma felt unsure about everything. Part of her wanted to turn and run; however, she was rooted to the ground. Tears began running down Mary Margaret's cheeks. Moving slowly towards her daughter, not wanting to spook her, she slowly raised her hands to touch Emma's face. As Emma felt Mary Margaret's touch, Emma gave way and fell into Mary Margaret's arms.

"You found us," choked out Mary Margaret. Emma felt weird not fully understanding everything yet. However, she did feel the love behind every caress. James came up and wrapped both of his ladies into the hug. Emma was uncomfortable. How do you reconcile the old ways with obvious new ways to come? How would this work? Doubt crept into Emma's heart.

"Grandpa?" came a hopeful, but young voice behind them.

Snow burst into laughter as Emma, Mary Margaret and David let go of each other. "Yeah kid, I suppose so." David said as he laughed. There were nervous smiles around as David gave Henry a hug.

"She did it. She saved you," claimed Henry.

"She saved all of us," replied Mary Margaret happily.

Emma recoiled a bit. Nothing seemed sure to her, not even now.

"Then why are we still here?" asked Leroy.

"That my friend is an excellent question," replied James, "There is much to learn and find out. We need to find answers. Our stories had been written, but new ones are about to be written. Old friends and old foes are coming. To get home we will need each other," looking at Emma, Henry and Mary Margaret he continued, "We will need to get to know each other all over again and with that, that will help us all go home."

"Home," thought Emma, "What is home? How will I deal with this? What do I have to prove?"

The road has changed. Nothing was at it seemed. New paths, new roads are about to be forged. Change, magic, has come to Storybrooke.


	2. Chapter 1 Building Ties

The Road Less Traveled By

Chapter 2

Rebuilding Ties

Regina paced nervously back and forth in Henry's room.

"Magic is back, magic is back, magic is back," she muttered to herself.

Pausing in front of the mirror, Regina took a long, hard look at herself. "If magic is back," she wondered, "how will this change everything?" Turning around she saw Henry's empty bed. "No matter what," she promised herself, "I will not lose my son."

The front door slammed downstairs. Running her hands through her hair and composing herself, Regina made her way downstairs. What she found at the bottom surprised her.

"Good Morning, Your Majesty," Spencer said as he gave Regina a slight not at the head.

"Good Morning yourself King George," replied Regina.

Turning to the person beside him Regina's smile curled. "I should have known you would come back Sydney."

"Your Majesty, there are some spells that can't be broken," he replied quietly, "I promised to never be parted from you and there is no magic that can undo that."

"Remember that Sydney. Now go get Spencer and I some drinks," turning to Spencer, "Shall we sit in the living room?"

As they headed to the immaculate room, Spencer started the conversation, "I want you to know that you have my full support in these matters. I do not want Snow and her 'Charming' to be happy either just as you do."

Sitting down, "Well there is the matter of my son, your great-grandson if we were to look at technicalities."

Spencer was obviously not happy with this pronouncement. Frowning he replied, "He is not my great-grandson. David Nolan is not my son. Yet he ripped everything away from me when he took the kingdom from me and had me overthrown. Most people believe he is my son, but he has betrayed me too many times to ever be thought of as my son." He spit the last few words.

Regina smiled coyly as Spencer, this King George, spoke. Quickly devising a plan in her head she replied, "Well let's do something together then. Let us destroy the happiness that I am sure is about to be returned to the people we hate."

"How do we do that?"

"By using my son, your great-grandson, as the legal heir to both of our thrones. Let me use my powers to persuade Henry…"

"..you mean force him…"

"No, not quite. Magic is not to be used on Henry if at all possible. The victory will be much sweeter if he does this of his own free will."

"You think you can get him to do as you wish?"

"I think between the two of us can be found to be very persuasive."

"Well how do we start?"

"By finding the person who will rule both our kingdoms someday."

Sydney brought in the glasses full of apple wine and served his Master and her guest.

"Well then let me propose a toast," said Spencer standing. Regina joined him. Spencer continued, "To a new relationship being built on previous trust, that will find us with our own happy ending. Here's to you, Your Majesty. May we be successful in our new endeavors."

"Cheers," Regina replied. Smiling to herself, she knew there was a way she could use Spencer to fulfill her own dark desires.

Across town

Mary Margaret and Emma walked slowly into their apartment. Mary Margaret started buzzing around, rearranging items, talking quietly to herself. She knew she was going to have to make room for two new people to be here and the apartment was tiny enough! Mary Margaret also wasn't sure how to approach her daughter just yet. Their reunion was wonderful, but David was quickly called to help sort out the town. Emma had decided to go sit down for a minute, especially after Henry begged for permission to go with David and Emma needed to think things through.

Grasping for a stool at the kitchen island, Emma plunked herself down. Too many thoughts wondered through her head, but one question burned in her mind, how was this going to work? Glancing up she saw Mary Margaret fluttering about the apartment and then out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bottle of wine. Leaping up she reached for it and quickly poured herself a drink.

"Are you sure you want to be doing that?" questioned Mary Margaret pausing in her work.

"I need something to calm my nerves and nothing else seems good enough right now."

Moving towards the kitchen island where Emma had reclaimed her previous seat, Mary Margaret saw Emma's face. There was obvious hurt and despair written there; Mary Margaret's heart broke, "We should probably talk a bit here about what is happening."

Emma was quiet. She was incredibly angry and didn't want her anger to control her. Confusion reigned supreme in her mind. She loved Mary Margaret, but Snow what was her mom!? Mixing the two was going to be incredibly hard. Mary Margaret waited patiently, like a mom would, for her daughter to speak.

Finally, drawing in a deep breath, Emma replied, "I know why you guys put me through the wardrobe. I obviously did the same thing with Henry. It was always going to be hard though and to find out I am part of a fairy tale story or something like that, it just makes this that much harder. Also, I am supposed to be the Savior. What's with that? How am I going to do that? How am I going to protect Henry? And because of this curse my parents are my age! How does that happen? I just don't know where to go from here. I know Mr. Gold is up to something. I think he was responsible for that purple cloud earlier, but I am just so emotionally messed up right now, I can't think straight."

Sighing, "Well, that is a lot to figure out. For right now, why don't you let your father and I handle things for tonight at least. You have had to bear quite a few burdens in the last 24 hours and you need a break."

Gingerly raising her hand Mary Margaret brushed some hair off of Emma's face. Startled Emma looked at Mary Margaret. As Mary Margaret's hand came behind Emma's head playing with her hair, Emma felt herself let go and let her head settle into Mary Margaret's palm. Smiling lovingly and comfortingly at each other, Emma knew there would never be a "friendship" with her friend, but she also knew right then and there that Mary Margaret, or her mother, would never desert her, and that was comforting right now.

"I think you're right about taking a break," said Emma standing up, "Let me go get a quick cat-nap so that when Henry and David get back, we can at least plan on what to do next."

Mary Margaret nodded smiling at her daughter. As Emma went upstairs and Mary Margaret watched her retreat into her room, Mary Margaret felt a pang in her heart. She knew big steps had been taken, but Emma still seemed to refuse to call them Mom and Dad. Mary Margaret knew it was crazy to think that all these feelings would just fall into place and they would live happily ever after, especially in this world, but she had still hoped.

David and Henry walked into the diner with Ruby and Granny. Granny went to get Henry and David something to drink, while Henry and David sat at the bar. Ruby got ready for business. Henry looked over at his grandfather and saw something he never thought he would see on his grandfather's face: fear.

"Grandpa, what's wrong?" asked Henry tentatively.

"I am just nervous. I know I can do this in some ways, but I am very nervous about it in others."

"Why do you doubt yourself? You've done this before."

"The story is a bit more complicated than that. There are things you don't know, that weren't in your book, about my father, well not really my father, but with King George. I just hope he doesn't become an issue."

Henry looked skeptically at David, "You don't think you can be a leader because of what happened with Mary Margaret here."

David was surprised to be called out by this kid. Turning sharply to look Henry in the eye, he replied, "Why do you think that is what I think?"

"Your whole demeanor. If you have faith in my mom, you should have faith in yourself too. "

David sighed and smiled, "You are a wise kid and you are absolutely right. Why don't we have faith in each other? Maybe then we can defeat those who seek to take away our happiness."

"That is the only way to defeat evil," said a smiling Henry.

At that moment a small mob burst through the doors.

"Why aren't we back yet?"

"We need to kill the Queen while we can!"

"How dare she do this to us!"

Henry recoiled quickly to the back of the diner. David jumped up and whistled loudly for everyone to hear. Suddenly all was quiet.

"Hey! I know there a lot of questions that need to be answered, but we will accomplish nothing of we just start jumping to conclusions," said David calmly to the crowd.

The bell jingled as more people arrived through the door. A voice shouted out, "We deserve a chat with your daughter, the Savior. Only she can tell us everything we need to know!"

"I've already talked to her and to be honest she knows less than we do in some ways since she never really came to know our land."

The same voice cried out, "What do you propose we do then?"

David felt something tug at his soul, "Who are you?"

Stepping forward a man appeared. He was very well built, tall, with dark hair and arresting emerald eyes, "My name here is Will sire, but you knew me as Flynn."

David's heart skipped a beat, as he went towards this man. "You were my head knight. You helped manage my army."

Will nodded. David rushed to him, but before he could get there Will made a deep bow. David froze in his tracks.

Still in a deep bow, Will muttered quietly so that only David could hear, "You never did give too much to pomp and circumstance sire. You always forgot that sometimes it was necessary to be formal."

Laughing all of sudden, David went to Will and made him look in his eye, "Yes, but we can never forget that friendship can break many formalities." With a wink from David, they threw themselves into a big bear hug.

Stepping back Will continued, "Yes, but sire, we need a plan. If your daughter does not have new information for us, then what do we do next? Magic is here. I know you felt it. There are those who would seek to destroy what have just found today if given that opportunity. We must kill the Queen."

"NO!"

Henry had been quiet up to this point, but he could no longer let them plan to kill his mom. Henry knew that she had evil in her, but Henry also believed that there was goodness too. He had seen it. Rushing through the crowd towards David, Henry finally grabbed his arm.

"You can't let them hurt her! She does have good In her. We need to save her too!" cried Henry.

The crowd began to mutter darkly at Henry's proclamation.

"And who is this," asked Will.

"He is my grandson and because of the crazy circumstances of this curse, Regina raised him," there was more muttering amongst the crowd, "However, if it had not been for him, the curse may have taken longer to break. It is partially because of him that we are here," David continued. Looking around the room and with a strong and clear voice David went on, "For now, let us focus on one thing: organizing ourselves for the fight we know is inevitable. We need to gather an army as we once did before and be ready to stand strong and together."

Lowering his voice David turned back to Will, "Will, will you be leader of knights as before? Will you help me defeat this darkness that has come into our lives?"

"Yes, my lord," he responded graciously this time getting down on one knee in a bow.

"What about everyone else here? Will you join us to fight for our happy endings?"

Slowly the people dropped to one knee. David felt an overwhelming sensation of awe. Henry was aghast. He had not known this man who could have so many doubts, but at the same time find the courage to command a room. Pride filled his heart as he knew nothing could stop them!

The bell above the door jingled again. "You will have those who are loyal to us as well!" cried out a sturdy voice.

The entire room turned to see who had just entered. Sean stood in front of his father and Ella who was carrying a napping Alexandra. Seeing his old friend here in Storybrooke like this moved David so much he just ran to Sean. They embraced one another as brothers would (and who cares how Princes greet each other for there are few rules between them!)

"My friend," started David, "I am so glad you are ok."

Grasping one another's arms, Sean replied, "We are fine and we are here to help. You have helped us in so many ways, and we realize now what your daughter did for us in creating a happy ending even in this world. We owe her our lives."

"How about first we just spend some time together, getting ready for the fight that will come and getting to know one another again."

"Sounds good to me!" smiled Sean.

Turning to Ashley, David gave her a small bow, "And how are you Ashley? Alexandra looks well."

Ashley smiled as David tickled Alexandra, "Amazingly well, David. Alexandra definitely seems happy to see you too! I would like to see Mary Margaret though. Is she here?"

"No. She is spending some time with our daughter. I would ask that you leave them be for tonight. Why don't you come by the apartment for breakfast in the morning? I am sure Mary Margaret won't mind."

"Sounds good," said a smiling Ashley rocking her baby.

Looking over Ashley's shoulder David saw the man he knew as King Alex in Storybrooke, but as Charlie here. Charlie gave him a smile and a nod and David let his instinct come over him as he gave this man a courtly bow. He was a King in his own right and deserved his respect.

"My, my," started Charlie, "You have always known that was not needed. Your father and stepmother had the two of the three most powerful thrones in all the land. I am a lesser King, but as always, we are here to help you."

"I thank you for all that you have done and will do to help us," said David, with a courtly manner coming into his voice. David felt his old self coming back slowly but surely. It scared him, but with all of this support it was hard to deny it.

Stepping back, David realized that the sun had been gone for a few hours now. "We all need rest. Go home and come back tomorrow. We will set up our next plans then."

David was amazed when people started to obey and walk out the door. Will came up and said, "I want to go and find some of my old men so they may at least watch over you and your family. We both know there are hidden dangers. And what about tonight? Who will be your guard tonight?"

"Old friend, you have never once stopped thinking about my safety…"

"… it is my job…"

"But tonight you may go look for our friends and fellow soldiers to help with building an army, but we will be ok for tonight. Rest easy, for tonight I think we will be fine. Remember, evil has to adjust to all of this too!"

Nodding, Will went out the door. When the only people who were left were David, Henry, Ruby, and Granny, Ruby quickly asked if she could come over for breakfast in the morning too. Ruby missed her friend and wanted to see her. David told her to stop by.

Taking a sleepy Henry by the hand, they left to head home. They walked down the mostly quiet street. Happy reunions were being held quietly throughout the town, while it was also obvious there were those who could not find one another. Nearing the park by Mary Margaret's apartment, David saw to shadows in the darkness. Gripping Henry tighter, surprising the boy, David waited to see what transpired.

Then he heard a shriek through the night, "JAMES!" Out of nowhere came Kathryn and she threw herself into David's unsuspecting arms almost knocking Henry to the ground. "Oh, thank you again and again. You have somehow managed to do it again."

Shocked, David tried to peel Kathryn off of him, "Kathryn, what on earth are you talking about?"

Standing back, Kathryn motioned behind her, and there stood Frederick. Coming forward Frederick chimed in, "My Prince, you have brought us together again. How could we ever repay you?"

Reeling from all these new revelations, David was aghast at everything going on. "First off, I am not your Prince Frederick. Last I knew, you were going to be a King in your own right by marrying Kathryn or Abigail rather. You owe me nothing, except, just as before, your own happiness together."

Frederick smiled, "You have always been wise. We will fight beside you if need be. You have the right to rule your kingdom."

"But wait," interrupted Kathryn, "What about my father? Where is he?"

Startled David looked at her, "What do you mean? Have you not found him?"

"No he disappeared just before the curse struck. I have not seen him here yet. Do you know anything?"

"I do not have any answers for that. Obviously there is a lot of work to do. We are going home for the night. I suggest you do the same. We can figure out more tomorrow."

Plans were made and Kathryn promised to stop by at some point the following day and Frederick was invited to a special meeting of the leaders who defied the Queen.

Henry was dead off his feet. He watched as Kathryn and Frederick walked away. The whole situation with Kathryn was something that was never in his book and he wondered at it. There was obviously much he didn't know. Henry began to feel a bit of doubt as well. Was his role in all of this over? Would he now disappear into the background?

Night fell on Storybrooke. Things for now were quiet and peaceful.

The next morning, Emma woke up with a bit of migraine. The excitement from yesterday and the bit of wine she had were not helping. Thankfully, there was a shower up in her room and she jumped into it gratefully. As the warm water rushed over her and she washed her hair, Emma knew she still had responsibilities in the town, she must still be Sherriff.

Climbing out of the shower, Emma blow dried her hair and quickly got dressed. As she descended the stairs, the sight before her eyes surprised her, to say the least. At her kitchen table sat Mary Margaret, Ruby, Kathryn, and Ashley with Alexandra. They were laughing and reminiscing of times in the Enchanted Forest. Emma stood still. She heard stories of drunken guards, fancy balls, beaux, and more about their lives before the curse. Hardly able to take it anymore, Emma made her presence know. Surprised, Mary Margaret turned to Emma.

"Oh, you're awake! Would you like some coffee?"

Mary Margaret started for the coffee pot. "No thank-you ," replied Emma curtly, "I have to go. I have to go to the Sherriff's office. I am sure there are things to be done. "

Quickly, Emma ran for the door and unintentionally slammed it behind her. Mary Margaret was left standing with the coffee pot in her hands.

"She's still coping?" asked Ashley.

"Just a bit," replied Mary Margaret.

"She'll turn around. This will take time, just like everything else," said Kathryn as she reached for Mary Margaret's hand as she sat down.

Mary Margaret gratefully accepted Kathryn's comfort. "I do find it a bit ironic after everything in the last few months that you are here, giving me support."

"Well, things change," countered Kathryn, "We are here to support you and help you and your family bring us back to our real lives."

Mary Margaret felt her eyes fill with tears.

"Yup, this wolf is here too," claimed Ruby grabbing Mary Margaret's hand as well.

"Your daughter helped give me my daughter. You will always have me by your side, Mary Margaret," added Ashley.

Overwhelmed with emotion as these women practically pledged their honor's to her, Mary Margaret was at a loss for words. Through choked back words Mary Margaret acknowledged them, "Thank you! You have no idea how much this means to me. I just hope we can show Emma at some point how well she is loved too!"

Emma walked quickly away from the apartment. She needed to get away from there. Kathryn and Mary Margaret were having breakfast together. That was little much, especially what has happened recently. Ruby and Ashley she got, but Mary Margaret and Kathryn? That was a little too much.

Walking into Granny's diner, without thinking (this was a fairly normal routine after all), she went to the bar and sat down. Then it hit her, "Dang it! Henry!" Emma started to get up to leave.

"Don't worry dear. I saw Henry and your father earlier heading to Town Hall to set up Missing Person's boards," said Granny, "May I get you a cup of coffee? You look like you could really use it."

Slowly sitting back down, Emma replied, "Thank you."

Granny placed the coffee in front of her. It was Emma's favorite blend with a little bit of sweetener and a hint of cinnamon. Not quite like her hot chocolate, but Emma needed the caffeine.

"Anything you want to talk about dear?" asked Granny politely.

Emma was very unsure about this, but before she could hesitate, the words came flowing out of her mouth, "I am just not very happy with people having to rely on me. I have never been in this position before. People are relying on me to help them and I am just a bit scared. Plus, I have a family now, which I have always wanted, but it is a bit weird that technically my parents are my age. And what about Henry? How do I protect him? And how do I lead people? I am supposedly this Savior, but I have always felt that I needed to be the one to be saved before. I am not sure I can do this!" Emma hung her head.

"My dear, if that is what you think, you have never been more wrong. You have a greater strength than you know. I know that the future seems impossible, but I believe in you, and I know if you think about it, you know where to start. You are the future! You are the happy endings! Things may seem impossible, but think about what your parents went through. There are tough times ahead, I won't lie, but you can only do it, if you believe you can do it. You have been shown what you can do when people believe in you! Imagine what you can do if you believe in yourself!"

Emma raised her head. Slowly taking in what Granny said, it all made sense. She had to do something. She needed to find Mr. Gold.

"You're right Granny. Thank you!"

Emma jumped up and started for the door.

"Where are you going?"

Whipping around at the door, Emma replied, "To find the person who brought magic back; to find Mr. Gold!"

And with that the door slammed behind Emma as she left.

To be continued… Chapter 2: Taking Charge.

I want to thank everyone who has read my story so far. I hope you like this chapter. I hope to have the next one posted on or around New Year's Day. After that I make no promises since I go back to work. I like to have long chapters with a lot of activity in them, so they may come a bit more sporadically than most of us, including myself, would like, but we can't all live in a Fairy Tale Land . Will/Flynn is a character of my own creation and he is mine. Please don't steal him. Please read and review. Your thoughts and ideas are always welcome!


	3. Chapter 2 The Favor

**First off, thank you for everyone who has decided to follow and/or review my story. This is my first fanfiction and I have been so happy with the response.**

**I have discovered, since becoming a writer, which most people like short chapters. I have always liked long ones since there is more content. I hope to find a happy medium.**

**I hope you and yours have had a safe and Happy New Year. Please read and review this chapter. I need everything I can get.**

The Road Less Traveled By

Chapter 2

The Favor

Mr. Gold puttered around his shop, waiting for Belle. Quietly, Belle came into the shop in simple brown and white dress that she found in a wardrobe in the back room. After a hot shower, her first in this land, she felt ready to show herself to her true love.

"Rumplestilskin," she said softly.

Mr. Gold felt his breath catch as he turned and saw her there. She would be enchanting to him no matter what she wore.

"My dear, you look lovely."

"Thank you. What are you doing right now?"

"Oh you know, just fixing things so our customers can come in."

"Our customers?"

"Well, I'd hoped you would stay with me, and work with me."

"That depends, Rumplestilskin," he gave her a concerned look as Belle continued; "There were some things that tore us apart. I don't want to be a part of any 'evil' that you have planned. I don't want to belong to the Dark One. I want to belong to you. Why did you bring magic back?"

"I told you dearie, for power."

"You do realize that if you continue this, you may lose more than just your life, right?"

The hard look that Belle gave him was only the second time Rumplestilskin felt fear and almost regret at her words. Just as he was about to move in and reassure her, the bell rang above his door, followed by a quick thud as his door slammed into the wall.

"Mr. Gold, we need to talk, NOW!"

Emma came storming into the shop. Looking at the couple in front of her she looked at Belle, "And who the hell are you?"

Belle tried to stammer out her name at this unknown woman, "I… I am…."

"She is none of your business, Miss Swan," interrupted Mr. Gold. Turning to Belle, "Why don't you wait for me upstairs?" I'll be right with you."

Taking the hint, Belle left the room feeling the glare of Emma's eyes on her back as she left.

"What can I do for you Miss Swan?"

Turning her anger at the person she came for, she began with, "What the hell were you thinking leaving me in the elevator? Where is the egg I gave you?"

"Ah, you see it has already been put to good use?"

"What, that purple cloud that came through town yesterday?"

"Why ask questions you already know the answer to dearie?"

The grin on Mr. Gold's face only made Emma madder as he moved behind the counter.

"What are you up to?"

"For as long as you have dealt with me, have you ever had a direct answer?"

"No."

Mr. Gold just smiled as Emma paced the shop. Looking around she realized that a few things that belonged to those whom she had come to know and love.

"Why do you have other people's belongings?"

"A lot of reasons."

Realizing that nothing she was going to get nowhere, she turned and faced Mr. Gold. "So what's next now, Mr. Gold?"

"Well, I thought you would be enjoying time with your family. They are wonderful people. As you recall, it was because of them I was able to bring magic back."

"You are low and twisted, and I am leaving."

Turning on her heal, Emma walked towards the door.

"No you're not dearie. You still owe me a favor."

Emma stopped in her tracks. "Don't you remember dearie. We have a deal."

Turning slowly, "So?"

"I think it is time I call in my favor."

The bell rang over the front door and the door slammed against the wall yet again. This time, Dave, Mary Margaret, Leory, Sean and Ashley come storming in.

"No!" cried Dave. Jumping in front of Emma, Dave continued, "I don't care what you think you are doing, you are not involving my daughter."

Emma was stunned. No one had stood in front of her like this before in her life. For the first time, Emma saw the potential that David had to be a leader. However…

"Well, Mr. Nolan, that is noble to think, but your _daughter_ owes me a favor and I would like to discuss it with her."

Turning around David grabbed Emma's shoulders and made her look him the eye. "You don't have to do this!"

Emma saw for the first time in her life the light of a parent's love. True, unconditional, and up to this point unrequited. Emma didn't know where the next words came from, but she found them in David's eyes. Giving David a reassuring nod, she released herself from his grasp. Going to Mr. Gold, she began,

"I don't what your plans are nor do I care. According to my son Henry, good will always win. That is how I will defeat you. What is it you want? I will do what you ask. Just know that I will too, find a way to defeat you!"

At her words, unbeknownst to her, Ashley slowly moved out of the room and ran down the street. Belle heard the conversation and became scared for her one true love. It took Belle everything in her power to not butt in, but she was scared.

Emma continued, "What do you want?"

"A golden mirror that can see all/"

"And where is it?"

"In the same mines that trapped your son."

**That is it for now. Please read and review! Have a wonderful New Year!**


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